Bowling wrist support



Feb. 9, 1960 G. D. BARRY BOWLING WRIST SUPPORT Filed Oct. 23, 1957 United States Patent O BOWLING WRIST SUPPORT George D; Barry, Healdsburg, Calif., assignor of fifty percent to Glenn S. Mitchell, Truckee, Calif.

Application october z3, 1957', serial No. 691,899

1 claim. (c1. 27s-s4) This invention relates to a bowlers aid and particularly to a device to help la bowler maintain his or her wrist in a rigid condition while bowling.

.The bowlers aid consists of a wrist and hand attachment that has a rigid frame that is to be superposed over the back of the hand and the wrist of the bowler and held rmly in place so that it is diicult, if not impossible, to bend the wrist in a direction that would oppose or tend to bend the frame. Although the invention is capable of being used as an instructional aid, it may be used as such or as an aid to novice and accomplished bowlers alike.

I have been made aware of prior positioners for bowlers wrists that rely on a stili? backing plus a plurality of straps to hold the backing fastened to the back of the hand and wrist'of a bowler. However, in all such wrist positioners of which I am aware they are incapable of doing an elective job because they tend to slide and more important, they do not inhibit or in any way retard movement of the hand in the region lof the thumb in a direction which would separate the hand from the wrist positioner. Therefore, it is an important object of the invention to provide one or more rigid, curved lateral extensions on the frame. One arrangement would have two lateral extensions that curve around the hand on opposite sides of the thumb and terminate at approximately the level of the palm of the hand. Another arrangement consists of only one of said curved lateral extensions, that is, a wrist protector having only one extension, which may be on either side of the thumb. Each of these alternatives provides a definite and serious improvement 'over all prior bowlers aids for positioning the wrist of which I have been made aware. Where earlier wrist positioners are elective principally in theory, my invention is effective in theory and in actual practice.

Wrist positioners that have been tried and proved to be somewhat successful have operated on the theory that all that was necessary to help the bowler is to retard or prevent the bowlers wrist from bending especially at the end of the stroke approximately at which the ball is released. I have found that additional advantages are obtained in helping the bowler -if the bowlers wrist is retarded in twisting. Not only is it a natural tendency to bend the wrist but it is also a natural tendency to twist the wrist at the same part in a single bowling stroke. Therefore, a further object of this invention is to provide rigid means that extend from the frame of the wrist support and that engage the bowlers hand between the thumb and foreiinger to assure that the wrist support is held firmly in place on the back of the hand and wrist and to te'nd to retard and stop twisting motions of the Wrist which, of course, would necessitate the twisting of the hand and which twisting motion would be retarded or prevented by these means.

Other objects and features of importance will become apparent in following the description of the illustrated form of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the hand and wrist ice of a bowler on which a wrist support of the invention is applied;

vFigure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;`

'Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the frame with its lateral extensions to lit around the edge of the hand on opposite sides of the thumb of the bowler.

yIn the accompanying drawing there is a bowlers wrist support 10 constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. This wrist support is made of a backing` 12 that is generally rectangular, having short edges 14 and 16 together with longer edges -18 and 20. Backing 12 isv rigid and is preferably constructed of metal, plastic or wood.` The backing 12 is in an envelope 22 formed of two sheets 24 and 26 that are stitched togethe'r along their edges or otherwise joined. Panel 28 is stitched as at 30 to the top panel 24 of the envelope and has three groups 32, 34 and 36 of loops formed in it. Straps 38, 40 and 42 are passed through the groups of loops and have buckles 44 at their ends so that the straps are adjustable. Straps 40 and 42 are designed to be positioned around the wrist and have a flexible pad 48 on them to t against the bottom surface of the wrist. These are located behind the thumb of the hand, but strap 38 is located in advance of the thumb and extends over the palm near the heel of the hand. Cushion 50 'is adhered to the bottom panel 26 of the envelope and is constructed of sheepskin, either natural or synthetic, a rubber pad or some other cushioning material. The cushion 50 iits over the back of the hand and the wrist to prevent abrasions during the use of the bowlers wrist support.

There are means connected with frame 12 and extending around an edge of the bowlers hand for both positioning the wrist and for inhibiting the wrist from twisting during the bowling operation. The frame 12 is quite effective in preventing the wrist of the bowler from bending so long as the frame and the entire wrist support remains xed in a proper position as shown in Figure l. Unfortunately, straps alone are not effective to hold a wrist support correctly positioned because it has a tendency to slide around both laterally and longitudinally with respect to the bowlers wrist. This is understandable due to thepexercise and forces generated while bowling. Moreover, frame 12 alone and held in place by straps, will not effectively prevent the bowler from cooking his wrist sideways during the bowling stroke.

The means which I use to overcome these diiiculties are the rigid, curved lateral extensions 54 and 56 which protrude from the edge 20 of frame 12. They are shown as curved or contoured to t around the edge of the hand and the edge of the wrist at which the thumb of` the bowling hand is located. Envelope 22 has lateral extensions S8 and 60 within which extensions 54 and 56 are snugly accommodated. Extension 54 and its envelope 58 are located between the thumb and forenger, but close to the root of the thumb. The extension protrudes alongside of the hand between these fingers and terminates at a point close to the palm of the hand. Extension 56 and its envelope 60 extends around the side of the wrist so that the thumb of the bowler centers the bowlers wrist support by having the extensions 54 and 56 anking it. The tendency to twist the wrist is materially reduced by the physical presence of the extensions 54 and 56 and also by holding the' wrist support 10 in the correct, originally selected position on the hand and wrist. This further assures that the bowlers wrist support will function in the intended manner and will not be subjected to malfunction that is 3 attributable to sliding of the wrist support on the hand and wrist.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those slcilled in the art, it is not desired to` limit theinivention to the exact construction and operation shown and. described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is-as follows:

A bowlers wrist support comprising an elongated'rigid frame, means to hold said frame on the back of the bowlers hand and wrist to maintain the hand and wrist rigid, said means comprising rigid means connected `with said frame and extendingjaround an edge of the bowlers hand for retaining the wrist support on the wrist and hand of the bowler, and straps to hold said frame over the back of the bowlers hand and wrist, said rigid means including at least one rigid extension protruding from said frame and extending alongside of the hand between the thumb and forefinger of the bowler, one of said straps extending transversely across the frame and extending beneath the hand and resting on said extension, another of said straps extending transversely across said frame Iand beneath the wrist of the bowler, and a second rigid lateral extension protruding from said frame and extending alongside of the bowlers wrist and over which one of said straps extends.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Risher et al. n June 4, 

